Fed up with natural straws ruining his mint julep (and really, who among us?), paper-cigarette-holder manufacturer Marvin Stone wrapped strips of paper around a pencil, glued the strips, and voilà! DC native Charles Drew, a surgeon and pioneer in blood-plasma research, wrote a patent for a method of preserving blood that helped establish modern blood-banking.
Source: Washingtonian
Indexed: Tue, 23 Jun 2026 10:44:41 UTC
Not a government entity. Not a broker or agent. Public information index only. Verify independently.